Dive Brief:
- Almost 9,000 autoworkers represented by the United Auto Workers at Ford Motor Co.’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville will strike on Feb. 23 if they cannot resolve local contract issues with the automaker, the union announced Friday.
- The autoworkers want Ford to address health and safety issues, including minimum in-plant nursing staffing levels and ergonomic problems, “as well as Ford’s continued attempts to erode the skilled trades” at the plant, the UAW said in a press release.
- Ford and UAW Local 862 were supposed to reach a local labor agreement more than five months ago, the union said.
Dive Insight:
Ford and the UAW reached a national labor agreement in November that increased wages by 25% over four and a half years, reduced the time it takes to earn top wages from eight to three years, reinstated cost-of-living adjustments and added the right to strike over plant closures.
Local 862 members employed at the Kentucky Truck Plant narrowly approved the deal, with 54.5% voting “yes,” according to voting results posted on the UAW’s website.
However, UAW members also negotiate local agreements regarding facility-specific issues with each automaker, and Local 862 has yet to reach one with Ford, paving the way for a potential strike. There are 20 open local agreements among the Big Three automakers, including Local 862, according to the UAW.
Citing comments made by CEO Jim Farley at the Wolfe Research Global Auto Conference in New York on Thursday, the Detroit News reported that Ford is reconsidering whether it should continue to build so many trucks at the Kentucky plant as it transitions to electric vehicles. The Detroit News noted that other automakers, including General Motors and Stellantis, pay lower labor costs to build some trucks in Mexico.
Ford builds Ford F-Series Super Duty Trucks, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator at the Kentucky plant.
“Our reliance on the UAW turned out to be we were the first truck plant to be shut down,” Farley said, according to the Detroit News. “Really our relationship has changed. It's been a watershed moment for the company. Does this have business impact? Yes.”
The UAW did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Ford is eroding skilled trades or whether members are working under an expired contract.
